Here it is the next chapter, and you didn't have to wait three years either. Last time, we see Black Cat in a very dangerous situation and Power Girl flies to her rescue. In this chapter, the story takes yet another turn...

Chapter 12

Ryker's Island

A prison guard approaches a prison cell and unlocks the door. He opens it to find Felicia in casual prison wear sitting patiently on the ground near a wall. "Ms. Hardy," the guard begins to say. There's some people who want to see you. Some reporter asking if he wants to interview you, and a detective from Gotham."

"Fine," Felicia sighs as she rolls her eyes. "Take me to them."

The two walk to an interrogation room where they are greeted by a well-built male, who looks to be in his mid to late thirties. He has short neat black hair, blue eyes that are framed in glasses, and a simple blue suit with a red tie and a white dress shirt underneath. Then there was a woman, who looks to be about her age and of Latina descent, with black hair and brown eyes. She's wearing a simple brown trench coat, with dark blue dress pants and dark dress shores.

Felicia raises an eyebrow at the male. She can't help but feel like she's seen him before somewhere, but can't put her finger on it.

Finally, the man begins to speak, "Are you Felicia Hardy?"

She nods.

"Clark Kent, Daily Planet, this is detective Renee Montoya."

"We're here to ask you some questions regarding your case," says Detective Montoya.

Felicia looks over at Clark, "Daily Planet? What's a news reporter from Metropolis doing all the way over here?"

"News gets around fast," the reporter shrugs.

"Mr. Kent here heard about me investigating your case, and decided to tag along. You know reporters…" The detective now says.

The former thief looks at both of them in suspicion then shrugs her shoulders.

Montoya and Felicia sit down at a table in the middle of the room while Clark remains standing.

The detective puts a file with photos of the crime scene on the table decides to get down to business, "So I got a call from a friend to come to New York to investigate your case here. According to these files, you're being charged for burglary and the murder of businessman Garrison Klum. It says here that, while under the influence of heavy narcotics, you butchered him in his own apartment. Power Girl and the police found you at the scene of the crime, beneath the victim, drenched in blood with drug-related paraphernalia as evidence."

Clark decided to speak up, "You were wearing your Black Cat costume as well. Now, I can believe the part about burglary due to your previous…exploits…but murder was never usually your M.O. On top of that, your costume was inexplicably ripped open, leaving you exposed."

"We believed that maybe you weren't trying to steal from the man, but instead was a guest, and the murder was maybe an act of self-defense," says Montoya. "I guess what we're trying to ask you is, was sexual assault at play? If that's the case, if what your lawyer told us was true, why did you refuse a rape kit? It could probably help you with your case."

"It's simple Detective," Felicia replies. "He didn't rape me."

"Ms. Hardy," Clark now calmly speaks. "We're only here to help you. We believe you've been wrongly accused and we really want to clear your name, but we can't do that unless you give us your side of the story."

"…Have either one of you ever been raped?" Felicia rhetorically asks. "Have you ever had anyone climb into your body that you didn't want there? And I don't just mean someone you got tired of sleeping with but didn't know how to dump. I'm talking about someone who FORCES himself into you, against your will. And the whole time, you know he's not doing it because he wants you. He's doing it to hurt you. He's doing it because he wants you to know how POWERLESS you are. He's doing it to take away everything good and positive you ever felt about yourself. He's doing it to humiliate you. He's doing it to break you. Well, that piece of shit DIDN'T break me." She points at one of the crime scene photos. "As much as I wish I had done this to Klum I didn't. He DIDN'T rape me, and I DIDN'T kill him."

"Ms. Hardy," says Clark. "Are you sure you're not in denial…"

Felicia slams her fist on the table, "HE DIDN'T RAPE ME AND I DIDN'T KILL HIM, MR. KENT! Now, if we're done here, how about both of you do your goddamn jobs and find a way to get me out of here?"

Montoya just sighs and gets up from her seat, "We'll clear your name, I promise. Mr. Kent and I aren't giving up on you."

The former thief just scoffs. The detective and the reporter both leave the room.

Parker/Starr residence, Brooklyn NY

"Thanks, for coming here to help Renee," says Helena, in her civilian attire, who is on her phone. "Barry's already at the crime scene investigating. Maybe you can help him out…assuming he hasn't already left of course…Yeah, Peter's taking it pretty hard. She may be his ex but he still considers her a friend…*chuckles* You WOULD think she's hot…Okay, let me know if you find anything."

Peter and Karen, in their civilian attire are now talking to Clark.

Peter begins to speak first, "Thanks for coming by the help Clark, I kinda wish J'onn was still alive so he could read her mind. So what did you find?"

"I listened in to her heartbeat like you guys said. She's telling the truth. She didn't kill Klum," answers Clark.

"Well, that's great," says Peter. "That means the real killer may still be out there. There may be a chance to prove her innocence."

"…Peter…there's something else you need to know," says the reporter.

The spider hero's face fell at the Kryptonian's tone of voice.

"When Montoya and I asked her about the sexual assault, she got REALLY defensive. She's insisting that Klum didn't rape her."

Karen now spoke up, "But Kal, I saw Klum's body on top of her, and she was exposed."

"I know," says Clark. "But like I said, when Renee and I brought it up, she got real fiery on the subject. She is adamant with the fact that Klum didn't rape her. This leads to two problems: 1. This eliminates her self-defense argument in court and 2. There's a strong possibility that she could be in denial."

"Oh my God," Peter looks down in shock and anguish.

Karen also looks down in complete guilt and puts her hand on her forehead, "This is all my fault. If only I got there sooner…"

Peter perks up and looks at his girlfriend, "No, don't you dare blame yourself for this…If anything it was my fault. If only I called you sooner…"

"It's nobody's fault," says Clark. "It was just a series of unfortunate events."

Peter sighs, "She's all alone in there. She's hurting."

"I say she's hating," says Clark. "The question is who?"

"Well, obviously Klum," says Karen.

"I'm not so sure about that Karen," Clark corrects again. "I mean, the guy's dead, what's left to hate? No, she's nursing some major enmity for someone else."

There was some silence before Peter spoke up again, "Well, thanks again for helping us out."

Clark smiles, "Consider us even."

The wall crawler raises an eyebrow.

"Kara told me how you helped her out the other night. I appreciate it. Thanks for not giving up on her."*

Now it was Peter's turn to smile and he chuckles, "Yeah, well, I was just like her when I was her age. I know EXACTLY what's she's going through. Try not ask too much of her okay? She's still a kid after all."

Clark chuckles, "I'll keep that in mind. Take care Peter. You too Karen."

With that, the other Kryptonian leaves.

Once he's gone, Karen looks over at her boyfriend with a sly smirk, "She totally has a huge crush on you by the way."

Peter looks over at his girlfriend with a raised eyebrow, "Really? I thought she had a thing for Dick, no pun intended."

The blonde Kryptonian scoffs, "Oh PLEASE, it's Dick Grayson. What costumed heroine besides Batwoman, for obvious reasons, DOESN'T have the hots for him? I'm sure half of them have already slept with him."

Peter quickly glances over at Helena who overheard the whole thing and is now looking the other way, blushing.

"And besides, she's basically me, and I think you're one of the hottest guys on the planet."

Now it was Peter's turn to blush, "Weeell, I wouldn't go that far."

"Not to mention she kept asking about you during our space adventure, and the way she keeps looking at you when you're not looking…"

"Alright already," Peter says as he rolls his eyes.

Karen chuckles, but then gets serious, "So, what are we going to do about Felicia? God, if only there was a chance to talk to her and see how she's holding up."

After several seconds of silence, the wall crawler spoke up, "I say we bust her out."

The Kryptonian looks over at her boyfriend, "WHAT?"

"Or at least I do. Look, you don't have to come with me if you don't have to. I don't want you to get in any trouble."

"And what about you?" Karen now asks. "Peter are you hearing what you're saying right now? If we're gonna get her out we have to do it legally."

"Karen, I'm a vigilante, I was never worried about the law to begin with."

"So you're telling me you have no qualms of breaking it too?" Karen now looks at Helena. "Helena help me out here."

"Nope, sorry, I don't do lover's quarrels," Helena says with her hands up in defense.

"Karen look," says Peter. "We now know Felicia didn't kill Klum. That makes her innocent. An innocent victim who needs our help. She's no different from any of the other innocent lives we save on a daily basis…And if she had been raped…" Peter begins to look down in sadness, unable to finish his statement.

Suddenly he feels a hand on his shoulder. He looks over and sees Helena with a look of determination on her face.

"Ok…I'm in," she begins to say.

Karen looks at her friend in shock, "You CAN'T be serious…"

The former assassin begins to sigh, "Karen I…There's something I need to tell you about myself…something I haven't told anyone else."

The blonde heroine looks at her friend in confusion.

"I told you how I used to be the daughter of a mob boss right?"

Karen nods.

"*sigh* Well…when I was a child…I was kidnapped by a mobster of a rival family…and he…yeah."

Now both Karen and Peter look at her in utter shock.

Karen spoke first, "My God…Helena, why didn't you…"

The former assassin shrugs, "It was a long time ago. Was it traumatizing? You bet your ass it was. It took me a while but I was able to recover from it. Experiencing sexual assault is one thing, but to see that possibly happen to someone else…If Felicia did get raped, then I want help her in any way I can. I know EXACTLY how she must be feeling right now. Once you experience something like that, you'll never be the same again. It can really hit you on an emotional and psychological level."

Karen looks down and sighs, "We'll be breaking the law. You know that."

"Your boyfriend is already considered a public menace, and this Catholic girl you see right here committed several acts of murder in her early days as a vigilante."

"Wow, confessionals must have been a doozy," Peter says with a grin.

Helena chuckles, "You have NO idea." She looks back at her friend, "Look Karen, if you don't want to come along, fine. But Peter and I are going to Ryker's whether you like it or not."

After taking in what her boyfriend and her friend are saying, Karen finally looks at them and shrugs her shoulder, "Ah, what the hell? Wouldn't be the first time I helped out a couple of "public enemies"."

With that, the three heroes change into their costumes and head over to Ryker's.

Ryker's Island

Spider Man, Power Girl and Huntress make it to cell block H. As they drop down to look for Felicia's cell, they noticed something was not right.

"It's quiet," says Power Girl.

"Apparently crime DOES sleep," Spider Man quips.

"No, I'm serious. My super hearing is only picking up two heartbeats…and one's beating rapidly."

"Uh, guys?" Huntress says as she points at a trail of dead guards.

Suddenly Spider Man's spider sense starts buzzing and the three heroes hear a voice echoing down the hall.

"Peek-a-boo."

They all look to see Felicia in the clutches of a brown-haired man in glasses.

"FELICIA," the spider hero shouts.

"GET OUT OF HERE," Felicia shouts back.

"You didn't tell me your friends were popping by Felicia," the man now says.

"Hey, aren't you Klum's right hand man? Francis, was it?" says Power Girl.

"I'm flattered you remembered me Power Girl," says Francis. "Nobody remembers me. It's usually Garrison who gets all the attention. Got ALL the attention."

"And we're waiting to take him out because…" says Huntress.

"After you madam," says Spider Man. "You know what they say, ladies…"

Then suddenly he gets hit so hard that he goes crashing through an empty jail cell.

"NO," Felicia yells.

"Spider Man," Huntress cries out. "The hell…"

Then she looks over at Power Girl and she notices her hand had been extended like she just threw a punch. She was the one that hit the wall crawler.

"Power Girl, what are you doing?"

"It's…not…me." Power Girl begins to say as she seems to be struggling. Then she looks over at Huntress and her eyes begin to glow red. "RUN."

Huntress summersaults out of the way of her friend's incoming heat vison blast.

"POWER GIRL, IT'S FRANCIS," Felicia calls out. "HE'S MAKING YOU DO THIS. FIGHT IT!"

Power Girl continues to fire her heat vision at her friend and Huntress is doing her best to avoid the blast.

Suddenly, the Kryptonian's eyes are now covered in webbing, and Spider Man jumps on her back. "I'm gonna need you to snap out of it dear before you bring the whole house down."

Power Girl then grabs Spider Man by the arm and pries him off. Then she slams him on the ground and hurls through a stone pillar.

During the scuffle, Francis takes Felicia's chin and makes her look over to him, "You know I don't want this. But they'll never understand."

"I can explain it to them Francis," says Felicia.

Power Girl now has Spider Man and Huntress by their throats and is choking both of them.

"Make her stop," Felicia says with tears in her eyes.

"If I make her stop, she'll do to me what she's doing to them. I know it," says Francis.

Spider Man is struggling to break free from his girlfriend's grip, but it was no use. He had to think of something fast. From the corner of his eye he sees a large piece of rock from one of the stone pillars he broke through. He then remembers his girlfriend's bizarre weakness to raw materials.

"How something like THAT can be her weakness, I will never understand," he thought. "It's gotta be an Earth-2 thing."

Felicia continues to watch her ex and Huntress getting choked out, "They're my friends Francis. They just want to help."

"But not like YOU want to help," say Francis.

Spider Man shoots a web line at the piece of rock and yanks it into his hand.

"I hope you can forgive me honey."

He then proceeds to bash the rock into Power Girl's skull. The rock breaks, but the Kryptonian falls over, losing consciousness. Spider Man and Huntress are not free and they fall the ground exhausted.

"Huh, well that's…unexpected," says Francis.

"Just get me out of here," says Felicia.

"I've never tried anything that big before. We might not…"

"JUST DO IT!"

Suddenly, the two disappear in a puff of smoke. Huntress and Spider Man, still recovering from Power Girl's assault, saw the whole thing.

"My God, he's a teleporter?" Huntress asks as she's grasping her neck.

"Worse," Spider Man replies. "He's telekinetic."

Val Kilmer said it best, "It just raises too many questions." Looks like Francis also has powers and seems to be an even bigger threat than Garrison. Who is he really and what does he want with Felicia? You're gonna have to find out in the next chapter.

Man, you don't know how difficult it was to write this chapter. In the original chapter, Daredevil shows up to help out Spidey, but since Spidey is in the DC universe, I had to improvise.

I know some of you are asking, "Wait, Martian Manhunter is DEAD? WTF?" Yes, you heard correctly. I figured since Barry Allen is alive and well here, I decided to have my story set after Final Crisis since that was the event in which he was resurrected in. That, of course, means two things: Martian Manhunter is dead, since he died in the very beginning of the event, and I guess Bruce Wayne is dead too since he didn't make it out either...though he really isn't dead. However, just to give you guys a hint on what's to come, Blackest Night hasn't happened yet. *wink wink* Also, I knew some of would ask why I couldn't bring J'onn into the story and have him read Felicia's mind since he usually poses as a detective. It's simple really, the story would be over.

While we're on the subject of timelines, I guess I can also clarify the differences between this story and Hope and Responsibility, since I know there will be questions. Hope and Responsibility takes place BEFORE Infinite Crisis (though that's going to change in the future). Which means the Power Girl in that universe doesn't have her memories back, the multiverse has yet to be rediscovered and Wally West is the main Flash. Here's an interesting fun fact: The Spider Man in that story has NEVER met Barry Allen.

Be sure to leave a comment telling me what you think of the story so far. By the way, the next chapter of Hope and Responsibility will be uploaded sometime this week. I figured you all waited long enough to see the conclusion of the Scorpion arc.

Until next time...

*Read my one shot "Richard Parker's Philosophy" to know what Clark is talking about.